Puppy Love: Carter
by bananabreakdowns
Summary: A 'fluffy' fic set in Carla and Peter's not so distant future.
1. Chapter 1

Peter fumbled with the door of the flat, hands preoccupied with covering Carla's eyes. He could tell she was getting impatient.

"Can I look yet?" She whined, shifting her weight from one foot to the other.

"Not yet, babe. Nearly there now."

Carla rolled her eyes beneath Peter's hands.

"You know I hate surprises, don't you?" She teased. Much to her disappointment, Peter didn't take the bait.

"And I don't like gobby cows; and yet here we are!" He joked. Carla could hear the smile in his voice.

"Watch it!" She warned, lightheartedly, as she jabbed her elbow into what she could only assume were his ribs. She felt her body lurch forward, as Peter led her into the flat.

"Right, keep your eyes closed, okay?" He said.

"Okay."

"Promise?" Peter raised an eyebrow. This was not a surprise he wanted ruining.

"Peter, I promise. Get on with it, please."

Carla felt his hands drop away from her face, but kept her eyes clamped shut as promised. She didn't notice Peter waving his arms wildly in front of her, in an attempt to catch out any cheating.

She folded her arms and sunk into one hip. The sound of Peter shuffling through the room brought a smirk to her face: the occasional mumble of frustration echoing around the flat.

She found it quite endearing that Peter would go to such lengths to surprise her on her birthday. She'd thought that the breakfast in bed and the bunch of flowers he'd presented her with this morning had been quite sufficient: more than she'd received in previous years, anyway.

And yet here she was: eyes clamped shut in the living room of Roy's flat, waiting impatiently for whatever it was Peter had in store for her next.

"Okay. Open your eyes!" Peter panted. Carla feigned annoyance, not wanting Peter to catch on at how flattered she actually was. As she opened her eyes, she caught sight of the wriggling ball of white and grey fur that Peter was struggling to hold within his arms. She softened, her hard exterior cracking for just an instant as she took in the sight of her lover holding on tightly to the newest member of their family.

"Oh, Peter!" She whispered, taking a step forward. He grinned, smugly.

"Happy birthday, Princess!" He exclaimed. She recoiled.

"Princess?" She laughed, obvious disgust coating her words. "When have you _ever _called me Princess?"

Peter shrugged. "I don't know. I was testing the water for new nicknames!" He mused, defensively.

"What's wrong with Babe? Or darling? Or Carla?"

"So Princess is out?"

"What do you think?" She smirked. Peter nodded.

"Noted... So, anyway. What do you think?"

"Yeah, it's cute." She smiled.

"It's a little girl!" Peter gushed, holding the puppy towards Carla.

"Peter. It's a dog." Carla pointed out. Peter nodded eagerly, as it wriggled around in his arms. Carla sighed, taking the small creature from him and holding it against her chest. It shifted slightly, before promptly falling asleep.

"See, she likes you!" Peter whispered, nodding towards the sleeping puppy. Carla rolled her eyes. "Oh, and I've got a joke for you!" He added.

"Okay..."

"A man went to a zoo but the only animal in it was a dog." He started, pausing to gauge Carla's reaction. It was mostly one of confusion.

"It was a shitzu!" He finished, chuckling to himself. "Get it? Because she's a shitzu!"

"Yes Peter, I know." Carla smirked. As much as they got on her nerves, there was something quite endearing about Peter's dad jokes. She sat down on the sofa, carefully placing the puppy in her lap.

"What's her name then?" She asked, gently stroking her new pet. Peter sat down beside them.

"I thought you should choose. She's your present, after all."

"Hmm..." Carla thought for a moment, before letting out one of her famous dirty giggles. "How about Tracy?"

"Why would you want to call our dog Tracy?" Peter asked, bewildered. Carla smirked.

"Because she's a bitch, and so is your sister. It's perfect!"

Peter sighed, shaking his head.

"I'm joking, Peter." Carla confirmed, patting his thigh. "We'll have a think, shall we?"

The pair spent a few moments watching their new dog sleep.

"You have to admit, she's pretty cute..." Peter whispered. Carla nodded, thoughtfully.

"Is Roy okay with this?" She asked. "You know, what with this being his flat and everything?"

"Of course. I wouldn't bring a dog into someone else's home without asking them first, would I?" Peter chuckled, rolling his eyes.

"It's not really the ideal place to raise a puppy though, is it?" Carla pressed, glancing around the flat. Her eyes fell upon Peter once again, a smug expression set across his face. "What?" She questioned.

"That's your next surprise..." He teased. "You know that house we made an offer on last week?"

"Yes..." Carla breathed, butterflies setting off in her stomach. Peter reached for the puppy, placing her on the sofa beside him.

"Well, it's been accepted!"

Carla leaped up, hands over her mouth in shock.

"You're joking?" She squealed in disbelief. Peter shook his head, standing up beside her.

"We get the keys on Monday."

"Oh Peter!" She practically threw herself into his arms, planting little kisses all over his left cheek.

"We're finally gonna have our own home, Car!" He said, scooping their now awake puppy up from the couch. "You, me, Simon and this little one!"

Carla smirked, before letting out another dirty giggle.

"What?" Peter asked.

"Princess..." She chuckled. He rolled his eyes.

"God, you're not still going on about that, are you?" He cringed. She laughed.

"No Peter! The puppy! Princess is definitely not a name for me, but it certainly suits her!" Carla took the dog from his arms, cuddling it into her once again. Peter smiled.

"Okay, then. Princess it is!" He agreed, gently stroking Princess' head. Carla watched him, a smile pressed against her lips.

"Everything's finally working out for us, isn't it?" She whispered, pressing her forehead against his.

He didn't respond. Instead, he pressed his lips to hers: the feeling of her soft skin against his sending tingles up his spine.

Carla was the first to pull away. She placed Princess gently down onto the floor: patting her head before standing up and meeting Peter's eyes once again. They were filled with the same lustful look as hers.

"I hope that's not the end of my birthday treats..." She whispered, seductively. Peter grinned.

Grabbing her hand, he led her towards the bedroom.

Her birthday treat had only just begun...


	2. Chapter 2

"Peter!" Carla shrieked from the living room of their new home, startling Peter and causing him to drop the tea spoon he was using to stir his coffee. He quickly rushed into the other room, and found Carla glaring at their half painted wall.

"What is that?" She demanded, gesturing to the wall before her. Peter took a step towards her.

"It's our living room wall, love." He said, a small smile encroaching on his lips. She shot him a warning look, one that very clearly dared him to try testing her again. He let the smile drop. "What's wrong?"

"I thought we'd agreed on duck egg blue." She stated, glaring incredulously at the paintwork before her. Peter raised an eyebrow.

"We did." He confirmed.

"Then why is it turquoise?" She shrieked, dramatically turning away from the wall as though she couldn't bear to look at it any longer.

"Well it looks duck egg blue to me..." Peter defended, receiving a scoff from Carla.

"Chelle!" She shouted, eyeing Peter and shaking her head. He heard the sound of footsteps running down the stairs, before Michelle entered the room, a streak of cream paint smeared across her cheek.

"What's the matter now?" She panted, glancing around the room. Her gaze fell upon the wall, and she narrowed her eyes. "Why's it turquoise? I thought you'd agreed on-"

"Duck egg blue!" Carla exclaimed, finishing Michelle's sentence. "Thank you!" She thrust her arms wildly towards her friend before turning back to Peter. "See, I didn't even need to point it out!"

"Carla, I don't see what the issue is..."

"The issue is, Peter," She began slowly, "that every accessory I have bought for this room is duck egg blue, because that is what we agreed on. I can't have duck egg blue accessories and a turquoise wall."

"Can you not?" Peter asked, still not entirely sure what all the fuss was about.

"No!" Carla and Michelle stated in unison. Peter rolled his eyes, sucking in a breath.

"But its only one wall Carla..."

"An accent wall, yes, that's supposed to be duck egg blue. We were going for subtle, Peter. What about _that _says subtle to you?" She ranted, waving her arms in the direction of the wall. Peter sighed, glancing at Michelle, who was stifling a giggle.

"Alright then. I'll go back to B&Q and get some more paint, and then I will redo it." He gave in. Carla smirked.

"Thank you." She said, softening. She wrapped an arm around his waist, pulling him tightly to her. "I just want everything to be perfect." She whispered, her breath hot against his lips. It took all of his strength not to rip her clothes off there and then. Instead, he planted a quick kiss on her lips, before darting towards the door.

"Oh, and Peter..." She called out after him. He spun around in the doorway.

"Yes, love?" He asked, in a mocking tone.

"Make sure you read what's on the flaming tin this time!" She ordered, holding up the old one and pointing to the very clear, bold lettering that spelt "Turquoise" across the rim. He shrugged, playfully: a cheeky grin plastered across his face. Carla shook her head as he left, pulling out a cigarette as he went.

"Flaming turquoise..." She tutted. Michelle let out a laugh, rolling her eyes.

"You know, people are gonna start calling you high maintenance..." She smirked.

"How's the bedroom going?" Carla asked, ignoring the comment.

"Great! Robert's nearly done!" She smiled. "It was mauve you wanted, wasn't it?"

Carla span round, a look of horror on her face.

"Mauve?" She questioned, disgusted. At the sight of her best friend giggling, she huffed. "Don't do that to me, Chelle." She jabbed her in the ribs as she passed, heading for the staircase.

Carla entered what would be her and Peter's bedroom just as Robert was adding the finishing touches.

"Okay, now this is what I'm talking about." Carla said, somewhat relieved. She looked around the room at the cream walls: no sign of any mauve or turquoise anywhere. It was the perfect blank canvas for her to work her magic on.

"Looks like we're on schedule." Michelle said, analysing the clipboard she now held in her hands, drumming on the surface with her french manicure.

"God, please tell me it's lunch time?" Robert replied, standing up from where he'd previously been hunched over a pot of paint and stretching out his back.

"Do you ever think about anything other than food?" Michelle scoffed. Robert allowed his eyes to trail up and down Michelle's body before raising an eyebrow.

"Sometimes..." He smirked. Carla grimaced as Michelle giggled.

"Right! Out of the bedroom right now before anyone gets any ideas!" Carla stated, quickly ushering the pair out of the room and towards the kitchen.

* * *

"Love, I'm home!" Peter called out, shutting the front door behind him in an attempt to block out the freezing January wind. He sauntered into the kitchen, proudly holding up a tin of duck egg blue paint. Carla glanced up from her mug of coffee, letting out a relieved sigh.

"Thanks, darling." She said, sweetly, fluttering her eyelids. He planted a quick kiss on her forehead, before sitting beside her at the table.

"You've done a nice job in here, babe." He mused, glancing around again at the final touches she'd added: the photo frames on the wall, the plant pot on the windowsill, the set of three matching tea towels draped delicately over a rail. Finally, his eyes fell upon the coffee she was drinking. "Any chance of one of those for me?"

Carla smirked. "Go and get started on that wall and I'll bring you one through."

Peter smiled, before heading into the living room.

Carla stood, taking a moment to survey the hard work she'd put into the kitchen. She'd spent so long living under other people's roofs that she'd almost forgotten what it was like to have a house of her own. A house that she shared with the love of her life, her future step son and their new puppy. It was the perfect place to raise, and possibly expand, their little family.

As she filled the kettle, she glanced out of the window over the sink, and out into the garden where Simon had been playing with Princess all morning. She'd tried to encourage him in, and out of the cold, multiple times, but Simon wasn't having any of it. She watched as he threw a ball, Princess stumbling over her little legs to retrieve it, and smiled at the scene.

She poured Peter's coffee and carefully carried it into the living room.

"He's absolutely besotted by that dog..." Carla laughed, motioning towards the french doors at the back of the room. "You alright, babe?" She added, upon noting Peter's flustered appearance. He grimaced.

"I've just been accosted by Michelle with a clipboard claiming she's project manager! Why on earth has she got a clip board?" He exclaimed.

Carla shrugged. "She likes to feel important." She chuckled. Peter raised an eyebrow.

"So I suppose it were you that made her project manager then?"

"Only in theory..." Carla smirked. "We both know that I am very much in charge."

"Oh, don't I know it." Peter grinned.

"Oi, less of the cheek, you. What did she want anyway?"

"I don't know, she was ranting about her schedule or something."

"Just ignore her, babe. I do." Carla smiled, wrapping an arm around his waist and looking up at the wall. "See, doesn't that look better already?"

"I've barely started yet!" He huffed.

"Well, you best crack on then!" Carla replied, mimicking his tone. He rolled his eyes, before taking his paintbrush and tapping it on the end of her nose, leaving behind a smudge of blue paint. She gave him a horrified look. He tilted his head, a cheeky grin plastered across his face, before holding the brush out to her.

"You could always give me a hand with those pesky edges..."

Carla raised an eyebrow.

"Oh yeah? And what's in it for me?"

"Well, a lovely new living room wall, for starters..." He took a step towards her. "And, I thought perhaps we could christen the bedroom tonight." He waved the brush in front of her , before quickly snatching it away. "Unless you don't want to, of course."

"Peter, give me the damn brush."

Peter snorted. "I'll take that as a yes then."

Carla set to work on carefully neatening the edges of the wall, while Peter rolled reams of duck egg blue paint over the larger sections. They had nearly completed the task when the back door opened, and the sound of tiny paws on wooden floor echoed through the ground floor of the house.

Carla remained knelt by the skirting board she was carefully painting around as Princess ran into the room, not stopping to avoid the tray of paint Peter had left on the floor.

"Princess!" Carla shrieked, as the shitzu clambered excitedly into her lap, her front paws resting on her chest as she plastered her face in affectionate licks. Carla took hold of the puppy, standing and holding her at arms length, before glancing down at the mess on her clothes.

Her black Levi jeans and black blouse where now covered in tiny blue paw prints. She shot a frustrated look at Simon, who was in fits of giggles in the doorway, before turning on her boyfriend.

"Peter!" She exclaimed, as he tried to contain his laughter.

"Love, I did tell you not to wear the expensive ones." Peter sympathised, gesturing to her jeans. She huffed.

"They're all expensive ones..." She mumbled. "Anyway, I'm not worried about the jeans, Peter! Look at the floor!"

Peter's gaze landed on the wooden floor, and the clear path Princess had taken from the tray of paint to Carla's legs. He carefully took the puppy from her arms, before handing her to Simon.

"Go give her a wash, mate. I'll sort this lot out." He gestured to the floor. Simon nodded, biting his lip to try and suppress the laughter that was shaking his body.

"I'm not sure I'm cut out for this..." Carla sighed, as he left the room. Peter turned to face her.

"What, babe?"

"This. Being a dog mum." She said, sadly. A strong laugh escaped Peter's lips. He quickly stopped himself when Carla looked up from the floor, a serious expression on her face.

"Don't be silly, Carla. You're great with her. She clearly adores you. After all, you're the only one covered in paint..." He chuckled. "She's still only little. It'll get easier. I wouldn't have got her if I didn't think we could handle it."

"I suppose..."

"Why don't I run you a bath? You can relax while I sort this out. Then maybe later we can watch a film. How does that sound?" He suggested, rubbing her back soothingly. She sighed.

"That sounds perfect."


	3. Chapter 3

Carla sat curled up into Peter's side on their new sofa, in their new house, wearing a new pair of fluffy pyjamas that she'd put on fresh from her bath. Her hair was scraped into a messy bun atop her head: her face free of any makeup. She'd blushed when Peter had told her she looked beautiful, playfully punching his arm before settling into position to watch the film Simon had chosen.

At some point Princess had jumped up to join them, Carla's protests of 'no dogs on the sofa' quickly subsiding as she fell asleep in her lap.

Halfway through the film, Peter gave her a nudge.

"Hark at him!" He whispered, gesturing to where Simon had drifted off in the armchair.

"Aw, bless him." Carla chuckled.

"It's almost like he did all the hard work today." Peter replied, sarcastically, a cheeky grin across his face.

"Peter, you made more work for yourself..." Carla pointed out, giggling. "He probably tired himself out playing with littleun here." She added, gently patting Princess' head.

"I was actually referring to the furniture moving..."

While Carla had destressed in the bath upstairs, Simon had made himself scarce when the time came to move furniture into the living room. Instead, Peter and Robert had been left to do all of the heavy lifting, with Michelle shrieking, "Mind the walls!" intermittently, waving her clipboard wildly in the air.

"I can't believe we've finally done it..." Carla breathed, glancing around the room. Peter gave her a puzzled look.

"Done what, babe?"

"This. Got our own house. A family. A dog." She sighed. "It's everything I ever wanted and never thought I'd get."

Peter wrapped an arm tightly round her shoulders, planting a soft kiss on her temple.

"And it's even better getting to share it all with you." She smiled. Peter laughed.

"This, love, is just the beginning." He stated, confidently. Carla looked up, meeting his eye line.

"Oh really? What exactly are you proposing?" She queried, a sly smile on her face.

"You know, an annual family holiday. A vegetable patch in the garden that's sure to make the neighbours jealous. An army of kids running riot through the house." Carla wrinkled her nose at the last suggestion. Peter laughed.

"I'm a bit old for that, don't you think?" Carla giggled. "But one, maybe two, I think we could manage." She smiled at the sight of Peter's eyes lighting up.

"Really? You wanna try again?" He asked, excitedly. Carla laughed.

"Well, yeah. I thought that were obvious, the way we've been going at it recently." She smirked.

"I thought it were just a bit of fun." Peter shrugged.

"Yeah, well you would." Carla laughed. She settled back into the sofa, resting her head against Peter's chest. "So, this vegetable patch. Is this something I'm going to be roped into? Because you know I'm going to need double the manicures if I'm gonna get all that soil under my nails."

"Oh, you'd love that, wouldn't you?" He laughed, twisting a lock of her hair between his fingers absentmindedly. "Any excuse..."

"There is nowt wrong with pampering myself every once in a while." Carla huffed, playfully. "Besides, I won't be able to once we welcome another little bundle of joy to our family."

"Try not to sound quite so sarcastic when you say that, 'ey Car?" Peter laughed. "Nothing has ever stopped you getting a manicure before. I don't see why a baby would."

"Because, Peter, I'll be up all night doing feeds, the house will be a mess, and so will I. I won't have the energy to get made up to go into town for a manicure."

"Well then maybe I should learn how to do it." Peter grinned enthusiastically. Carla shot him a confused look.

"Do what?"

"Give you a manicure." He stated. Carla burst into laughter.

"I was hoping you'd say night feeds..." She giggled. He smirked.

"Well, yeah, I'd do those too. But if you insist you can't leave the house for a manicure, then perhaps I can give you one here."

Carla looked at him for a few moments, waiting for the facade to crack and the joke to be revealed. Only it didn't come.

"Oh, you're being serious." She realised aloud. He nodded, eyebrows knitted together. "Well then, you best get practicing now." She smirked, glancing down at her fingernails. The pale pink polish was still very much intact, having only been reapplied at her last appointment three days prior.

"Obviously I don't need a manicure right now, but I could really do with a pedicure..." She teased. Peter gently placed Princess fully onto Carla's lap, before scooting her out of the way, allowing him to stand. She lowered her feet from where they were resting on the sofa, stretching her legs out towards him.

"Right, what do I need?" He asked, rolling up the sleeves of his jumper.

"A washing up bowl and some soapy water." Carla began.

"But you've just had a bath..."

"That's not the point, Peter. You have to do it properly!" She teased. He rolled his eyes, before heading out to find what he needed. "Oh, and you'll need a towel." She called after him.

In the armchair across from her, Simon stirred. Rubbing his eyes, he glanced towards her, catching sight of her smug expression. He raised an eyebrow.

"Where's dad?" He questioned, confused. Carla laughed.

"He's getting ready to give me a pedicure." She chuckled.

"A what now?" Simon quizzed, still somewhat half asleep.

"Never mind, Simon." Carla laughed, shaking her head.

Their attention was drawn by Peter pushing the door open, a washing up bowl half full with soapy water between his hands, and a plush cream towel draped over his arm. He gently placed the bowl on the floor beneath Carla's outstretched legs, careful not to spill any of the liquid on their new wooden floor. He knelt down, carefully rolling up the hem of Carla's navy pyjama bottoms, before placing each foot in the warm water.

"Now what?" He asked, looking up at Carla hopefully.

"Now you let me relax, while you fix me a nice glass of red..." She grinned, cheekily. Peter rolled his eyes, clambering to his feet, as Carla let her head rest back against the sofa, her eyes drifting closed.

"And would madam like a face mask to go with that? Some cucumber over the eyes, perhaps?" He teased.

"Wine, Peter." Carla stated, her eyes still closed. Simon snickered from his place in the armchair, before swiftly turning his attention back towards the TV as his dad shot him a look on his way to the kitchen.

Moments later, Peter returned, a glass of Merlot in his hand. Carla accepted it gratefully, giving the liquid a long, drawn out sip before opening her eyes once more.

"You're going to need the nail polish." She stated. "It's in my handbag. The little pink bottle."

"I know what nail varnish looks like." Peter replied. Carla smirked as he left the room, returning a few moments later.

"Why on earth do you have six bottles of nail varnish in your handbag?" He questioned, exasperated.

"In case of emergencies, Peter. Now, you need to dry off my feet so you can paint them. We'll forget about filing and cuticle treatment today, and just focus on the application of the polish." She said, matter of factly, receiving a bewildered look from Peter.

"Right..." He mumbled, still trying to work out what half of the words his lover had just said meant. He knelt down before her, laying the towel across his lap before pulling her right foot carefully out of the water. Placing it in his lap, he folded the towel around it, dabbing and massaging until it was dry. Carla laughed at the way Peter's brow furrowed in concentration, how the tip of his tongue poked lazily from the side of his mouth.

Once both feet were dry, he picked up the little bottle of varnish.

"You're going to want to give it a shake first." Carla instructed. Peter did as he was told, taking the bottle in his hand and treating it like a maraca. He unscrewed the lid, pulling out the tiny brush and wiping the excess liquid against the rim of the bottle.

"Now just treat it like colouring. You want to stay inside the lines."

"Stay inside the lines..." Peter repeated, under his breath, brow furrowing once again as he carefully placed the brush at the centre of her big toe. Carla watched intently as the bristles spread across her nail, leaving a trail of pink behind. She raised an eyebrow as Peter made the next stroke, successfully avoiding the skin around the nail bed.

"You're a natural..." She smirked. He quickly shushed her, holding up one finger, his eyes still trained on the brush in his hands.

"I need to concentrate." He whispered, making another stroke.

"It's not brain surgery, Peter." Carla laughed. He sighed, placing the brush back in the bottle before looking up to meet her eyes once again.

"Do you want me to get this right or not?" He questioned. Carla bit her lip.

"Okay, sorry. Carry on." She suppressed a giggle, sinking back into the sofa.

She turned her attention back to Simon, who sat silently giggling across the room. She shook her head, grinning, as he met her eyes, only causing him to laugh harder.

"I can hear you, you know." Peter stated, silencing Simon. Carla let out an audible laugh.

"Oi, you should be taking notes, Si." She winked. He scrunched up his nose.

"No he shouldn't. He's not allowed to date until he's at least twenty one." Peter interjected. Carla raised an eyebrow.

"Peter, it's absolutely fine for teenagers to experiment. I certainly did when I was his age." Carla pointed out.

"I'm not sure I wanna hear this..." Simon stated, placing his hands over his ears.

"And I'm sure you did too." Carla continued, her attention on Peter. "Christ, our Chelle had already had Ryan by the time she was 16."

"Oh god, we're really having this discussion now..." Simon muttered under his breath.

"Although that's probably not a good example. All I'm saying is, as long as you treat her right, and use protection, it's fine."

Simon jumped out of his seat in disgust.

"I'm going to play FIFA..." He stated, trying desperately to erase the last few minutes from his head. Carla roared with laughter as he sprinted up the stairs.

"You need to stop teasing him..." Peter chastised, an amused grin set upon his face.

"I'm sorry." She giggled. "But you're both so easy to wind up!"

Peter shook his head, screwing the lid back on the bottle.

"All done." He stated, contentedly. Carla leant over, examining her partners handiwork.

"Impressive." She nodded. She felt Princess shift in her lap, standing up and nuzzling her head against the bottom of Carla's chin. "What do you think, Princess?" Carla asked, picking up the dog and holding her over her feet. "Has daddy done a good job? Has he? He has. Oh yes he has!" She cooed, holding the dog closely to her and rocking her in her arms. Peter couldn't hold back his smile.

"So... Now that you've been suitably pampered, and I've proven my skills are just as good as any salon, perhaps we should go upstairs and start working on expanding the family..." He suggested, raising his eyebrows hopefully.

"Ooh, you're so romantic..." Carla rolled her eyes, playfully.

Peter sighed, settling down beside her, taking Princess from her lap and setting her down on the floor. She scampered up the stairs, presumably to join Simon in his room.

He draped an arm around her shoulders, pulling her close to him. He leant towards her, his breath warm against the bare skin of her neck, as he whispered seductively into her ear.

"Voulez-vous coucher avec moi, ce soir?"

Carla raised an eyebrow.

"Better..." She smirked. "But I need to wait for these to dry before I step on that new carpet..." She pointed out, wiggling her toes. Peter smirked.

"Oh, that's no problem..." He said. Without warning, he scooped her up, cradling her in his arms. She shrieked giddily as he ran up the stairs, pushing open the door to their bedroom.

Peter stopped in the doorway, closing his eyes and letting out a frustrated sigh. Carla shot him a confused look, before turning her head towards the middle of the room.

"What the hell, Peter?" She stated, taking in the sight before her.

In the middle of the floor, lay the disassembled frame of what should have been their bed. A pile of freshly washed linen lay in the corner, on top of which Princess had curled up for the night.

"I thought Robert and Michelle were in charge of the bedroom!" Peter defended, placing Carla back on her feet.

"Project manager?" Carla fumed. "Project manager? That girl couldn't manage to fry an egg!"

"Well, neither could you..." Peter muttered, a small smile crossing his lips. Carla jabbed him in the ribs.

"Maybe expanding the family is going to take longer than we thought..." She groaned, folding her arms defeatedly across her chest.

"I don't know..." Peter smiled, a cheeky glint in his eye. "That sofa was pretty comfortable..."

Carla met his eyes, a seductive grin stretching across her face.

"Race you..."


End file.
